Căn'on1, n.
n. [A-S. canon, rule, prebendary, Fr., Pr., Sp., & Pg. canon, It. canone, from Lat. canon, a measuring line, rule, model, list, roll, Gr. κανών.] 1. A law or rule. Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon’gainst self-slaughter. Shak. 2. (Eccl.) A law, or rule of doctrine or discipline, enacted by a council and confirmed by the sovereign; a decision of matters in religion, or a regulation of policy or discipline, by a general or provincial council. Various canons which were made in councils held in the second century. Hook.
- The genuine books of the Holy Scriptures, called the sacred canon, or general rule of moral and religious duty, given by inspiration.
- In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order.
- A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic church.
- (Mus.) A musical composition in which the voices begin one after another, at regular intervals, successively taking up the same subject; as each voice finishes, it commences anew, thus forming a continued fugue; a round.
- A dignitary of the church; a person who possesses a prebend or revenue allotted for the performance of divine service in a cathedral or collegiate church. “Longs to be a canon there.” Swift.
- (Surg.) An instrument used in sewing up wounds. Bailey.
- (Print.) The largest size of type having a specific name;—so called from having been used for printing the canons of the church.
Hansard. 10. (Billiards.) A carrom. See CARROM. Apostolical canons. See APOSTOLICAL.—Canon of the mass, that part of the mass which intervenes between the preface and the paternoster, in the middle of which the priest consecrates the host. It is recited in a low tone.
